District Attorney Candidate Backs Rival Against Hynes

Kings County District Attorney Charles Hynes announces an indictment in 2013

Former Manhattan prosecutor Abe George said he is dropping out of the race for Brooklyn District Attorney and endorsing one of his former rivals in what he said is a move to try to secure the defeat of incumbent Charles Hynes.

“I looked at everything we were doing here and decided that three people in the race can only favor Joe Hynes,” Mr. George said, using the district attorney’s nickname. “We have to stand united to beat a 24-year incumbent.”

His departure leaves Mr. Hynes facing as an opponent only former federal prosecutor Kenneth Thompson. Mr. Thompson was the attorney for a maid who accused one-time French presidential hopeful Dominique Strauss-Kahn of raping her while she tried to flee his room in a Manhattan hotel. The Manhattan district attorney’s office ultimately dropped the case because they said the maid’s credibility was called into question.

Mr. George said he entered the race because at the time no one had declared that they were opposing Mr. Hynes. He said his decision to drop out was largely based on not wanting to split the black vote.

“I had to make a decision, was it all about me and running a race or is it about defeating Joe Hynes,” he said.

Mr. George, who files an unsuccessful court action trying to stop a reality show about the district attorney’s office in May contending it was a glorified infomercial whose viewing violated state election laws, said he is endorsing Mr. Thompson and will campaign for him in the Sept. 10 Democratic primary, which will determine who is the next district attorney because the borough’s voters are overwhelmingly Democrats.

“I am thrilled to have the support of Abe George, a true leader who has made a real difference in this campaign,” Mr. Thompson said in a statement

George Arzt, a spokesman for Mr. Hynes’s campaign called Mr. George’s agreement to drop out “Tammany-style backroom dealing at its worst.”

“They question is: What did Thompson promise George to drop out? It doesn’t pass the smell test,” Mr. Arzt said.

Corrections & amplifications: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Mr. George was black.